The Welsh American Society of Northern California (WASNC) hosts its annual Gymanfa Ganu at Lafayette United Methodist Church on Sunday March 4, 2018.

In the Welsh language Gymanfa Ganu is the name for a traditional Hymn-Singing Festival where many of the most famous Welsh hymns of the past two or three hundred years are sung by the whole assembled community.

Nerys Jones from Seattle – a native of Wales – has experience of conducting Cymanfaoedd in Wales and the United States and she is a Welsh speaker. She is also an operatic singer and we are very pleased that she has agreed to be our guest conductor.

Our wonderful organist Donna Llewellyn Swanson will again travel from Oregon to accompany the singing.

The Red Dragon Choir will also perform and there will be a wonderful Te Bach for all to enjoy after the singing is over.

Whether you join in the singing in four-part harmony, sing only the melody, or just sit and enjoy this glorious music, they’ll extend a warm Welsh welcome to everyone who joins them. Hymn books containing all the songs will be available. After about two hours of joyous singing they’ll all gather in the church’s Social Hall for a traditional Welsh Te Bach (Little Afternoon Tea). A knowledge of Welsh is not necessary – all you need is a love of singing.

Each year around March 1st WASNC’s members invite the whole community to join them for an afternoon Gymanfa Ganu. March 1st is the saint’s day of Wales’s patron saint, St. David.